Bobcat 753 cleaning beside the chaincase (bilges?)

[sunnyboy]

Some while ago I blew the two main hoses that feed the hydraulics inside my bobcat 753. Of course it was in a field where I was working, in March (and cold). I managed to get the hoses replaced, but when they blew they dumped most of the hydraulic oil in the area between the actual chain case and the side of the bobcat (I saw them referenced elsewhere as 'bilges'). Nothing got into the actual chain case, but the oil mixed with dirt to make quite the mess.

The strange part is the oil never drained. I had to use a fluid extractor to suck up the hydraulic oil from that area (mostly starboard side). I would love to pressure wash the area, but I don't relish washing/sucking very much.

I know there's the motor access plate bolted to the outside, but with it in place the thing never drained (it sat for days before I could fix it). Aside from removing the motor access plate, is there some other drain in that area? I saw another post saying just flush it out the engine bay at the back, but there's a baffle there in the diagram - plus the spilled oil never came out the back - it just stayed several inches deep until I sucked it out.

There must be a way to clean this area. Thanks in advance.

 

[reaperman]

Did you look under the rear of the machine and see the small access plate about two feet forward? Its not a big plate only about 4-5" wide and a few inches long. Thats the lowest part of the machine where anything should drain too. Generally its kind of gunked up with crud so with the plate off you would likely need to use a screwdriver to loosen up any debris so things can drain.

 

[sunnyboy]

Did you look under the rear of the machine and see the small access plate about two feet forward? Its not a big plate only about 4-5" wide and a few inches long. Thats the lowest part of the machine where anything should drain too. Generally its kind of gunked up with crud so with the plate off you would likely need to use a screwdriver to loosen up any debris so things can drain.

Thanks. I'll have a look. Normally the bobcat is stored such that getting under is virtually impossible. Easiest to probably drive it up on something.

 

[brdgbldr]

I believe that the plate that reaperman is referring to is actually the access for the fuel tank drain. This should be removed and cleaned out.

The drain holes that you need to unplug are actually just on the other side of this plate toward the front of the machine. There are no plates covering them. They are only about 2" dia. and get plugged up with gunk really easy.

When I removed the fuel tank drain plate, the first time, about a quart of water, oil and diesel came out along with a lot of mud, so be prepared.

Also, if the other drain holes are plugged, as bad as it sounds, you may need to try access them from under the cab or an access panel to remove the debris by hand first.

 

[sunnyboy]

I believe that the plate that reaperman is referring to is actually the access for the fuel tank drain. This should be removed and cleaned out.

The drain holes that you need to unplug are actually just on the other side of this plate toward the front of the machine. There are no plates covering them. They are only about 2" dia. and get plugged up with gunk really easy.

When I removed the fuel tank drain plate, the first time, about a quart of water, oil and diesel came out along with a lot of mud, so be prepared.

Also, if the other drain holes are plugged, as bad as it sounds, you may need to try access them from under the cab or an access panel to remove the debris by hand first.

Thanks. I'll check it out.

I know once I removed the bulk of the hydraulic oil with an extractor, there was a lot of gunk in the area that I swabbed out with rags. It was a cold March when it happened and although the hydraulic fluid in the area would flow, it was pretty stiff. I suspect debris plus cold fluid would account for why it didn't drain.

 

[brdgbldr]

Thanks. I'll check it out.

I know once I removed the bulk of the hydraulic oil with an extractor, there was a lot of gunk in the area that I swabbed out with rags. It was a cold March when it happened and although the hydraulic fluid in the area would flow, it was pretty stiff. I suspect debris plus cold fluid would account for why it didn't drain.

Forgot to mention that there should also be 2 more drain holes at the front of the chain case, opposite the others, that are smaller So clog up even worse.